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Nathan Linfoot, PAA senior, listens to the New Testament on his mp3 player.Nathan Linfoot, PAA senior, listens to the New Testament.

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PAA Staff Grows Faith by Hearing

Portland Adventist Academy students and staff were challenged to commit to a 40-day New Testament listening program called Faith Comes By Hearing. Nine Adventist churches in the Portland area were inspired to join them.

FCBH has recorded the New Testament in more than 350 languages and counting. Their mission is to evangelize to the world's 50 percent illiterate population through free audio Bibles.

The audio Bible also works well for literate communities. Rita Barrett, PAA Spanish teacher and promoter of FCBH, says, "our culture is becoming a lot more oral. As print media becomes a less effective evangelism tool, we can turn back to the way Jesus did it. I think there is real power in the tradition of hearing stories."

"Every student at our school was given an mp3 of the New Testament," says Greg Phillips, PAA chaplain. That includes 22 ESL students who do not come from a Christian background.

Jim McMurry, senior pastor at the Hoodview Church, listened with his church and PAA students. "I think anything we can do to get people into the word of God is positive," says McMurry. "I recognize people have different learning styles. The audio Bible is a great tool for people who may not benefit from reading. And since it's an mp3 they can take it everywhere—jogging, on their commute to work, or anywhere."